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What Is “Eco-Anxiety”? Climate Fear Mongering Is Literally Making People Sick

What is “eco-anxiety,” and how pervasive is it?

CNN – We know changes in the weather and seasons can affect mood, causing run-of-the-mill rainy-day blues and seasonal affective disorder.

Now, it’s also important to recognize the harmful mental and physical health effects of long-term climate change, says author and former CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider.

In her book “Taking the Heat: How Climate Change Is Affecting Your Mind, Body, and Spirit and What You Can Do About It,” Schneider offers insights about the impact of climate on health.

CNN: How can climate change lead to health problems?

Bonnie Schneider: Our environment affects the core drivers of health. Temperature changes, air and water quality, food safety and availability, and even our emotional well-being are tied up with our natural surroundings. Changes to these variables can impact both healthy people and those with preexisting conditions.

“Experts confirm the genuine struggles that individuals, especially young people, are having with this kind of anxiety. It can cause severe disruption in daily life, intrude upon people’s thoughts and interfere with healthy sleep … “

Natural disasters can adversely affect mental well-being, even among those not directly impacted, Schneider says.

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Natural disasters can adversely affect mental well-being, even among those not directly impacted, Schneider says.

Take temperature, for example. Ever tried to sleep in a hot room with no air conditioning? Rising temperatures can disrupt sleep and diminish mental clarity and memory, research has shown.

A study of young, healthy college students showed that those who slept with no AC during a heat wave performed worse on cognitive tests the next day than those in rooms with artificial cooling.

Climate change has been linked to certain types of extreme weather events, including intensified floods, wildfires, severe thunderstorms and hurricanes that last longer and produce more rainfall. In 2021, 20 weather and climate disaster events in the US resulted in losses exceeding $1 billion each.

CNN: What is “eco-anxiety,” and how pervasive is it?

Schneider: Eco-anxiety refers to the anxiety and fear that people have over climate change and the future of the planet …

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